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AL-AHSA – The Ministry of Islamic Affairs is to exempt “elderly imams” from their duties during Ramadan as they are “unable to lead worshippers in prayer for long periods of time,” Al-Yawm Arabic daily reported Thursday.

Sheikh Ahmad Al-Hashim, a ministry official in Al-Ahsa, told Al-Yawm that the Ramadan “taraweeh” and “qiyam” prayers were particularly challenging for imams advanced in age, and that the “temporary measure” was decided as the administration prepares for the holy month.

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JEDDAH – The first manuscript exhibition “Kingdom of Saudi Arabias Written Heritage” will be inaugurated Sept. 10 by Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, Emir of Riyadh, and Chairman of the King Abdul Aziz Darat.

The one-and-a-half-month exhibition will display more than 3,000 manuscripts from fields of knowledge including Shariah, language, literature, history, geography and astronomy.

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MADINA – Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bin Abdullah Aal Al-Sheikh, Grand Mufti and Chairman of the Board of Senior Ulama, has intervened to expedite construction of a mosque in Al-Fariah village in Al-Ula Governorate and issued directives to change the contractor who did not complete the project on time.

Abdul Wahab Al-Siqair, Director of Islamic Affairs in Al-Ula, said that the Grand Mufti, as the donor of expenses for the grand mosques construction, acted on village residents complaints that the contractor did not hand over the mosque on the set date.

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ABHA – The Intellectual Security symposium being held in Asir has warned against heeding fatwas from “satellite television programs and Internet forums”.

Participants at the forum, which was opened by the Emir of Asir Prince Faisal Bin Khaled in Abha on Sunday, said that religious edicts “should only be sought from scholars”.

Waleed Bin Othman Al-Rushoudi, one of the 1,000 imams and khateebs taking part in the gathering, said the intellectual security of the Ummah was under threat, and that the “correct thing to do is to speak transparently”.

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Ardha dance is performed in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, Friday within the framework of the activities of Saudi Cultural Days in Kazakhstan. Saudi Arabia initiated the recognition of the independence of Kazakhstan after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, and signed the protocol for the establishment of formal diplomatic relations between the two countries in April 1994, said Dr. Majid Abdulaziz Al-Turki, the media advisor at the Ministry of Islamic Affairs in a speech in Eurasian National University. - SPA

JEDDAH – The Ministry of Islamic Affairs is developing special programs to counter the threat from Al-Qaeda that it will use child suicide bombers – whom they call “Birds of Paradise” – to carry out terrorist operations in the Kingdom.

Dr. Majed Mursal, Adviser to the Minister of Islamic Affairs and Director General of Religious and Intellectual Awareness, said the precautionary measures include special programs devoted to children in cooperation with the Ministry of Education. This will ensure that preachers are brought in to enlighten schoolboys and schoolgirls about the “deviants” and also to acquaint them with the edicts (fatwas) of the religious scholars.

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RIYADH – Sheikh Abdulaziz Bin Abdullah Aal Al-Sheikh, Grand Mufti of the Kingdom and President of Senior Ulema Commission, Department of Scientific Research and Ifta, commended the program on loyalty and citizenship held by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance through the Institute of Imams and Preachers in Najran.

In a letter of thanks to Minister of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance Sheikh Saleh Aal Al-Sheikh, the Grand Mufti lauded efforts to hold such a beneficial program.

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MADINA – The Ministry of Defense and Civil Aviation and the Madina Emirate have ordered a private company to remove its construction workers and machinery from a Madina site which may be a protected Islamic heritage site.

The area falls within a military zone close to the Prophets Mosque.

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MADINA – Abdulrahman Abdul Aziz Al-Hadlaq, head of the Intellectual Security Administration at the Ministry of Interior, has said there is no evidence to suggest that school curricula play a role in the “intellectual deviation of youth”, while a ministry study has shown that 78 percent of “deviants” failed to complete their schooling.

“What has been shown is that some teachers may play a part in this intellectual deviation by directing the pupil toward violence,” Al-Hadlaq said at a discussion circle organized by Madinas Islamic University this week.

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MADINA – The Ministry of Islamic Affairs has terminated the service of 35 imams and muezzins in Madina for falling short of their religious duties.

The ministry cited reasons for the terminations including negligence and inexcusable absences over the past year that continued until the end of February.

Warnings were sent out to the imams and muezzins, but they did not comply with the attendance and duty policies, said Muhammad Al-Khetri, head of the Islamic Affairs Office in Madina. As guardians of the mosques, they failed to maintain clean and organized places of worship despite repeated warnings, he added.

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